Tuesday 9 August 2011

Simply Reflections




It has now been two days since we arrived home from the 22nd World Scout Jamboree in Sweden. We are all settling back into our homes, readjusting to Eastern Standard Time, sharing pictures, and grumbling about the weather (seriously, more rain?). For all its times of hardships, the WSJ'11 will go down in our memories as the most amazing experience in scouting of our lives. Previous friendships have been strengthened to last a lifetime, and new friendships have been made. Already, our Irish friends have been finding us on Facebook (and vise-versa) and we have begun to connect with the rest of the contingent. The series of unfortunate events surrounding our departure from Sweden may have had a damper on that day, but will soon be close to forgotten (but will still remain indefinitely) and we will rejoice in the good memories.


With over 40,000 scouts at the closing ceremony, the 22nd WSJ was the biggest yet (the claim that there was a bigger one with 50,000 is actually incorrect), and most definitely the most public Jamboree ever. For 12 days, over 140 countries shared an experience, and the world watched. What will become of this? Well for one, thousands of wars have been waged over cultural differences, but if the youth of today can stand together no matter their differences, the future looks mighty brighter.




In two days I leave for Kenya to help build a school as part of the RIM Build a Village Program with Me to We. I hope that I can share my experiences with those I meet on this trip, and truly help to make a difference in this world.




The 22nd World Scout Jamboree in Rinkaby, Sweden.

Simply Scouting.

Simply... extraordinary.



This is Eric, member of the WSJ'11 Southern Skies patrol, signing off.


Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Scouts Canada

Scouts Canada, the country’s leading youth organization, has more than 100,000 members nationwide representing every faith and culture. Scouts Canada groups offer programming in more than 19 languages reflecting Canada’s multicultural landscape and communities.

The Scouts Canada Action Plan for Canadian Scouting is the organization’s roadmap to enhance its public visibility as a relevant, dynamic youth organization of the 21st century. Its major elements include making learning and programming resources more accessible to new and current volunteers, enhancing Scouts Canada’s image, enhancing its organizational capacity, and achieving meaningful youth involvement. With these strategies for success, Scouts Canada is making itself known as the premiere youth serving organization in Canada and has grown in size each year since adopting the Action Plan in 2009. Scouts Canada’s national office is located in Ottawa. Scouts Canada is a not-for-profit organization (Charitable Registration No. 10776 1694 RR0028) and a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.